ProZ.com, Inc.Reviews of proz.com

I am a paying member and I do not receive offers by e-mail, having to look each time to see if there is any new work.

I've tried using Proz.com to find a translator. The website is horrendous, borderline unusable. Google 'User Experience Design'! It feels like you launched the website in 1999 then mindlessly added bits and pieces of functionality to it, then lost the blueprints half way through.

This might be a good website for a translator to start out with. It has some good free tools and resources but the jobs will go to the lowest offers and these can sometimes be very low, and expect there to be some scammers - clients and translators. There are some good guides and articles for the beginner. The forums\message boards appear to be managed by a small group of translators. Most discussions are full of sexual content and innuendo, and newcomers are bullied or attacked with racist jokes. "Merv the perv" and a few of the other administrators, (seemingly middle-aged men) seem to get their kicks out of writing seedy content. I'm not sure how this can be allowed on what is supposed to a website for professional translators. Join for the free resources and to get some experience.

They only seem to be interested in one thing - to get your membership fee. Since I do not pay others for my own hopes I never paid. Otherwise it is just another bidding site. I only went there because someone wanted my ProZ profile and I made it but since then I never heard from that someone again. Better keep that money for yourself. And, yes, anyone can claim to be a translator there. Serious agencies give you a test. You may find out that your fields of expertise do not match their requirements (there is no such thing as a universal translator) and usually it is not so easy to start with an agency even if you pass the test but at least you can expect some result. And it does not cost anything, maybe except the price of printing out a paper contract and sending it to the agency. But not a membership fee for being on their list.

I have now been reached 3 different times by 3 different people/3 different emails all with the same pretense of wanting to hire me for an English to Spanish translation, always using the same document and with the same scheme. The first time I had my doubts but followed through with the back and forth communication until I received a check from them, delivered by UPS. They attempted to pay me over $4K “in advance”, I called the bank the check came from and they confirmed the account had been closed and the check was fraudulent.

Unethical service! As a translation agency we have been targeted by a group of translator who used Google to translate a large assignment for us. We ended up paying a large sum (over 400.000 USD) in damages to the client and did not pay for the translation these people made. They used Proz to taget us. We provided proof to Proz in form of documentation from our lawyer and Proz still keeps the negative remarks about us on the site. We consider Proz to be a place were you find amateur translators, the real ones you find among those listed but the different organisation that organises translator like ATA etc. The management of Proz lacks every form for decency, are unethical and this is clearly why Proz is going down the drain.

I created a free profile in Sept 2017 but have never signed up to be a member because I wanted to see what value they might bring. Since then I have been using the site for occasional live requests for help and a lot of work queries. Observations: (1) Other translators have been helpful although not all gave reliable advice (2) The Kudoz points-based system is odious and counter-productive as it introduces an unnecessary and unpleasant undertone of rivalry between translators (3) Those who do offer to help others - as I did on several occasions - find themselves under sudden verbal assault from an 'editor-at-large', whose identity and credentials are hidden. I did complain and ask ProZ support but the site-owners told me that this information was top-secret. Not surprising given the way this individual prowls around the site peremptorily and rudely 'correcting' any contributions he/she regards as not up to the mark. Most off-putting and needless to say I know longer feel inclined to contribute if all I get is an abusive troll tracking my every step. (4) The there are the agencies. As others have also remarked, a large number of these are fraudsters. So much for vetting and quality control. (5) Translation support - I can see why in the past, over 10 years ago, say, this was a great idea, but today, with the development of AI and really superb online dictionaries and corpora such as the OED, I am finding all my requirements are now increasingly amply met without the need to refer to ProZ. So, all-in-all, ProZ seems to be crumbling away. I don't think it's a good investment anymore, and would recommend migrating to LinkedIn. Much more professional and it has Microsoft behind it.

A company that lost its touch. Lots of registered users (agencies and translators) but less and less activity. Also, at least 50% of the thousands of agencies are outright scammers or companies in serious financial trouble. The companies that still have a good reputation mostly do not use Proz for their 'first choice translators' selection but instead only go to Proz if they are desperate, so only for 2nd or 3rd choice. Those companies now have their own databases and portals for translators. So, if one is lucky from the on Proz listed translation jobs one will get the left over 'one time' job crumbs and usually urgent ones only. One will rarely get the opportunity to become a 'first choice translator' regardless of great online reputation, experience and qualifications. Pity, but the whole 'directory-idea' like this is going the way of the dodo because the directories offer little useful functionality for translators and instead mainly cater to agencies, not understanding that without translators there are no agencies going to the site. Translators ought to be the first priority. Not worth the money anymore.